The aircraft engine was humming; outside the window, the view of the stratosphere flashed past.

Lin Qian stared at the file. The opening was sealed with red wax.

“What was the additional agreement?” she asked.

Li Zhicheng left the document in front of her; he raised his water glass and took a sip, then he said, “He proposed lending me a hundred million in cash.”

Lin Qian was stunned.

She felt sweet and touched. This was so unlike Lin Mochen; on the other hand, this seemed like exactly what he would do for his sister.

What was this? That dictatorial emperor, who wanted to strip Li Zhicheng until there was nothing left of him, had set the strict requirement of him becoming the leader of the industry within a year. But he had also raised such a huge sum of cash for Li Zhicheng to go to war with, ensuring that they could sit back and relax after Aito was launched.

She seemed to be… too harsh on her brother.

She was touched by this sincere sibling love, yet her feelings only lasted for a few seconds, because she heard Li Zhicheng add, “After a year, I need to pay him back two hundred million for both principal and interest.”

Lin Qian stared ahead in shock.

Damn it! She had felt touched for nothing. He was indeed “Lin Flayer.” His provision of one hundred million was definitely a strong helping hand for Aida, but he certainly did not forget his aim to strip Li Zhicheng until there was nothing left of him!

Lin Qian quietly imagined her brother’s face, handsome and arrogant.

Then, she heard Li Zhicheng speak again. “He made it clear that when the time comes, one hundred million of principal will be returned to him, and the other hundred million in interest will be given to you.”

He glanced at the document on the table, saying, “I kept fifty million to be used for Aito. The other fifty million I had put into an investment registered under your name.”

Lin Qian was stunned. She replied, “I never wanted his money. Even if you make a profit using this money, I don’t want it.”

Li Zhicheng glanced at her, his eyes smiling, and spoke softly. “He said it’s your dowry.”

Lin Qian smiled.

Now she had completely understood her brother’s thoughts. Lending a hundred million was not an easy task—even for him. So he was indeed trying his best to help Li Zhicheng, his sister’s lover.

But, his help was conditional. If you treat my sister nicely, the money earned in the future can still be used by the both of you, so I don’t want a single cent of it. But if in the future Li Zhicheng cheated on her and both of them broke up, he would definitely not let him off the hook easily. Did he dare believe the Lin siblings were so easy-going that they would give out a hundred million freely?

But Lin Qian still shook her head. “I don’t want it.”

Li Zhicheng fell silent for a moment, and then he replied, “Okay. When we have earned two hundred million, we will return everything to him.”

Lin Qian was about to nod when she suddenly felt that something was off. She pondered, then she said, “Why do we need to return everything to him? You earned the money. We would return him the one hundred million principal plus the interest rate of the bank loan for a year. The rest you would keep.”

Amusement flashed past Li Zhicheng’s eyes.

Right after she spoke, Lin Qian realized she had taken Li Zhicheng’s side… too much. Sheepishly she said, “I’m being impartial. I’m not siding with anyone.”

“Hmm,” Li Zhicheng murmured.

And so Lin Qian’s face reddened because of his “Hmm.” Was she really someone who put dates before mates and before their own sibling?

Meanwhile, Li Zhicheng gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pushed the sealed document in front of her. “This is the content of the investment.”

Lin Qian was burning with curiosity to find out what kind of investment Li Zhicheng would make. He was not like her brother, a genius investor. No matter how smart he was, he had never set foot in financial investments before, and he also couldn’t create miracles.

So where exactly had he invested the other fifty million?

But after feeling uncertain for a while, Lin Qian pushed the document back to Li Zhicheng. “I don’t want to read it.”

Li Zhicheng gazed at her silently.

Lin Qian gazed at him too, saying, “I’m not reading it because this is not important. I will support you regardless of what you invest in and whether it is earning or losing. And to be honest…” She lightly pulled her hair. “I was never interested in investing. So you can take charge.”

Her words sounded light; she rejected the offer crisply. But Lin Qian also had other thoughts on her mind.

Before this she had been drooling with envy at Li Zhicheng’s tricks and business strategies.

But she hadn’t predicted that now, as his girlfriend, even though she was still very interested in his inscrutable scheming, when given a chance by him to read some of it she would change her mind.

Her first thought was that if he won, she would witness his foresight and brilliance. But what if he lost?

It was not that she lacked confidence in him, but anything could happen.

If today she read his plan and he lost in the future, it meant that she had witnessed his ill-judgment. Then it would be a little hard for him to hold his head high in front of her.

Men needed to save face in front of women. She wouldn’t let him lose face; that was the decision a smart woman would make. So she chose not to read it.

Plus, if he really did lose, the pressure from everyone else would be as high as a mountain. She didn’t want it so that when he came back to her side, he would still need to worry about anything else.

So she chose not to read it, leaving some space for him. Whether they won or lost, those were things in the exterior world.

He would always remain her closest partner. There was nothing in between them; they would always cherish each other.

Her thoughts went through innumerable twists and turns. However, Li Zhicheng with his piercing gaze could tell that she—who was always curious—had a reason for falling quiet.

He thought for a while, then he kind of understood.

He stared at her again. Even though she tried to look nonchalant, her eyes could not hide it.

The expression in her eyes was familiar to him; she had stared at him using those eyes more than once before.

She only had this expression in her eyes when she looked at him.

Lin Qian felt a little sheepish being stared at by Li Zhicheng, so she turned her head to look out the window and tried to change the topic. “Ah, ah, ah! We’re almost there!”

Li Zhicheng put the file back into his bag, then he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace.

He lowered his head to look at her face, his hand holding her soft and delicate neck. “Are you sure that you don’t want to read it?”

Lin Qian was a woman with character and mettle. “I am sure!”

Li Zhicheng kissed her.

After a while he released a red-faced and slightly breathless Lin Qian. His fingers gently massaged her neck. He whispered, “Lin Qian, how much longer are you going to protect me?”

Lin Qian’s heart trembled. After remaining silent for a moment, she buried her face into his chest once more. “I could justify any of your actions… just you wait and see. You are blessed to be my boyfriend.”

It was dusk when they reached Lin City.

The driver Xiao Tang came to pick them up again. When they were a street away from Aida Group, Lin Qian told Li Zhicheng, “Drop me off here.”

Li Zhicheng nodded.

The car stopped by the roadside. Lin Qian got out of the car and Li Zhicheng got out of the other side. The two subordinates sitting in front wittingly remained seated in the car.

Li Zhicheng helped unload her luggage from the trunk. The sun was setting now; passers-by were coming and going. It was warm and familiar.

“I should leave now,” Lin Qian said.

Li Zhicheng lowered his head to stare at her.

His hand reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Lin Qian’s hand was in his grasp, locked on his waist. He savored her lips. After a while he let her go.

Lin Qian watched the black car drive away; she then dragged her little suitcase and walked toward her apartment slowly. She couldn’t help smiling.

When love was in the air, every moment was filled with tenderness and silence was more expressive than any spoken word.

When she reached home, Lin Qian took a shower, then she sat on the balcony to call the “emperor.”

It was still early in the morning on his end of the line, but Lin Mochen’s voice was already cold and calculating. “Hello?”

Lin Qian relented as soon as she heard his voice; she called out tenderly, “Brother!”

Lin Mochen’s heart was softened upon hearing her voice. But he said coldly, “Still remembered to call me? I thought you were off busy cooking rice.”

Lin Qian’s face heated up. “I was not!” After that she tried to butter him up by saying, “Brother, you’re so good at using Chinese idioms.” He had left for the United States with their father when he was few years old, so it was surprising that he knew how to use the term “the rice is cooked.” Such a… fancy term.

Lin Mochen sneered. He didn’t say a word.

Lin Qian continued to placate him. “Brother, I really like him. You know, men like you two are very charming. Women can’t help but be drawn in.”

Lin Mochen wasn’t actually angry because of what had happened. So he snorted in amusement at her words.

Out of nowhere, Lin Qian suddenly had an idea. She continued speaking in a low voice. “You said you wanted to strip the man until there was nothing left of him. But brother, if it were a girl you liked, would you be willing to do the same to her?” He remained silent, so she added on, “That’s how I feel. I can’t do it.”

Actually Lin Qian was being very shrewd. Even though she meant what she said, her words were also meant to hit Lin Mochen where it hurt.

After a moment of silence, his voice calmed down. “Lin Qian, Dad passed away many years ago. I am merely acting on his behalf. Whichever lad plans to take you away, don’t you think I should put him through some hardship so he’ll show us his sincerity?”

Lin Qian’s heart softened upon hearing his words. “Hmm,” she replied lazily.

After a while she spoke again. “Brother, have you ever had this feeling before? You feel happy and every second you get to spend with them is precious. Maxim Gorky once said that everything good in this life is measured with seconds. I understand now that, other than him, there is no one else for me.”

The Lin brother had temporarily been placated by his sister. As for the agreement between the two men, Lin Qian felt like it was their business. It wouldn’t affect her relationship with Li Zhicheng anyway.

But the pathetic part was that for the next couple weeks, and even longer, the private time Lin Qian got to spend with Li Zhicheng would really be measured by seconds!

Because both of them were way too busy!

Lin Qian had it slightly better. Since she led a small team, she could still freely arrange their rest time. Plus she was someone who emphasized a proper balance between work and leisure, so even though the team inevitably worked till 11:00 pm or midnight every day, she would try her best to give everyone half a day or a day off every week.

Her team fully embodied her style: hardworking, efficient, flexible, lively, and creative. Quoting her words, “Our marketing department can do overtime and pull off all-nighters. We can fight continuously for 365 days without feeling tired. But we don’t have to do so because we solve our problems with wit and inspiration!”

Her words made other teams gnash their teeth, because other teams like production technology, production, procurement, and design had to persevere and run trials repeatedly before they could come up with the best solution. The nature of their jobs was different from market planning, so when Lin Qian said that wasn’t she looking for a fight?

Because of this, Lin Qian and the others on her team had bought supper for the other teams after work a few times after midnight.

Of course, whenever Lin Qian organized team activities so everyone could enjoy themselves during hard times, she hoped that Li Zhicheng could join in as well. Even though it was not private time together, it would be sweet if they could let their feelings stir for a while from across the crowd.

Unfortunately Li Zhicheng never participated in these activities.

He had no time for it.

Exactly how busy was he?

As the man who oversaw everything, his time belonged to everyone.

He had previously been staying in a mansion a ten-minute car ride away from the Group. The mansion belonged to his dad. But since the day he’d returned from Taiwan with Lin Qian, Aito’s bag production design had entered a critical stage, so he started staying in the company’s hostel straight away. He told every team leader to report to him at any time.

This was what it meant to take the lead.

Lin Qian heard from Jiang Yuan that there were a few nights when he just slept on the couch in his office, and went to check on the production at the workshop again at dawn.

As for their interaction, it was limited to passionate kisses during her occasional visits to his office to report on the progress. Or the days when Lin Qian got off work at midnight and he happened to have free time too, he would walk her back to her place; the two would whisper some lovers’ talk before he let her go inside. Then he would walk back to the office again to continue working.

Lin Qian felt that it was not enough. Definitely not enough.

The feeling was like a well being dug in her heart. Just when the boiling hot spring water was about to gush forth, someone blocked it with a marble slab, leaving only a slit for the water to leak out.

Great tenderness between lovers led to a harmonious and complete-feeling world. She just wanted to stay with him always. No amount of intimate interaction was ever enough.

But compared to her silent unrestrainable desire, Li Zhicheng seemed much more composed—at least from the outside. He always overpacked his schedule. Occasionally he would get intimate with her, but only taking a sip from the cup before putting it away. Even when he turned and left, he seemed to be in a hurry; he would quickly refocus and devote himself to his ambitious plan again.

This made Lin Qian feel like she couldn’t handle him. She felt kind of blue.

But she kept this feeling inside her heart. She knew that at times like this, being rational was more important than being sentimental. He was in the right.

But she couldn’t help feeling a bit down.

Soon enough, it was the weekend again.

Lin Qian’s team was going to take tomorrow off. Everyone was as happy as though they were celebrating the festive season; they felt relaxed from head to toe and happily left the office early.

Lin Qian needed to report on the team’s result, so she was the last one to leave. When she finished her work, it was already dark outside.

She ate some fast food. Sitting in her office, she looked around at the room decorated by Li Zhicheng for her, then she stared at the moon hanging high outside the window. She felt calm and peaceful.

She had heard that earlier that afternoon, the prototype of Aito had been finished. The appearance, functionality, and cost had basically fulfilled Li Zhicheng’s requirements. Lin Qian had not seen it yet, but she was sure that this was a huge step in their progress. They only needed to revise and improve on this foundation in the later stages; not long after, Aito’s sample could officially be rolled off the production line.

He must be very happy.

Would his dark, cold, knitted eyebrows smooth out again because of this?

As she thought about him, the phone on the table rang.

It was Jiang Yuan. “Manager Lin, you are still in the office. It just so happens that Mr. Li is reviewing the latest results of every team. Are you free to come over?”

Free! Of course I’m free!

After Lin Qian hung up the phone she rushed to the Group. It was just a brief meeting to discuss about work.

But after calculating, she realized she hadn’t had close contact with her boyfriend in four days!

Almost everyone on the top floor of the office had left. When Lin Qian walked in, Jiang Yuan stood in front of the table, wearing his coat. He smiled at her and said, “Manager Lin, I have something going on tonight. I’ve told Mr. Li about it. Please help me keep an eye on anything he might need.”

Lin Qian said, “Okay.”

She softly knocked on the door. Li Zhicheng’s bass voice sounded on the other side. “Come in.”

Lin Qian entered the room. It was bright inside. He sat on the sofa, and in front of him were stacks and stacks of documents and a laptop. The army-green thermos was empty.

Lin Qian stared at him, a little dumbfounded.

The man who had repeatedly kissed her that night in Taiwan was still deeply imprinted in her brain. It was as though it had happened yesterday. But now, as she saw him in his suit, sitting in the office with a focused expression, she suddenly realized that it had been many days since both of them hung out together quietly like this.

He raised his head to look at her too; his expression was deep and hard to read.

Lin Qian sat down on the chair opposite him. Usually they would start with discussing work first. She took out the file and pushed a copy over to him. “Should we start now?”

He didn’t look at the document on the desk. Instead, he stared at her.

“I read it this morning. No problem.”

“Oh…”

Li Zhicheng tapped the space on the sofa beside him. “Sit over here.”

His words were like a seductive spell. Lin Qian’s face reddened. She asked rhetorically, “What for?” As she finished her last syllabus, her hand on the table was clasped by him.

“Come over.”

Lin Qian’s heart felt sweet. She barely made her way around the coffee table before she was pulled to sit in his embrace.

The lights were fuzzy; the night misty.

Lin Qian’s hands were locked on the sofa; her body was pressed against his chest. Her face was slightly upturned, and she received a deep smooch from him.

After a long while he moved his lips away, but his eyes, darker than the night, still stared at her closely. “Tonight I need to work overtime again. Stay here with me for a while?”

“Hmm.” Lin Qian was lightly twiddling his shirt above his chest.

Li Zhicheng noticed this little action as she cuddled in his arms; a faint smile flashed in his eyes. He temporarily let go of her, returning to sit in front of the pile of work while saying, “Go and lock the door.”